Ronnie James Dio Showered With Tributes
This past weekend, it was a time to remember the late, great Ronnie James Dio with a host of events in Los Angeles on the 5th anniversary of his death. At his emotional public memorial service on Saturday, former band members performed a blistering version of “Rainbow In The Dark”. That was followed by Dio Disciples, who performed the classic “Stargazer”. The 3-day memorial included a motorcycle rally, barbecue and concert.
Dio’s wife and manager, Wendy Dio, organized the events, all to benefit Dio’s Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund. Celebs in attendance included Rudy Sarzo, Craig Goldy (see story below), Simon Wright, Lita Ford, Rock Feinstein of Elf, and members of Great White and Rough Cutt to name just a few.
At the final event on Sunday, there was also a surprise appearance for many – Eddie Money. Turns out that Eddie was a longtime friend of Ronnie’s. As he said, “You know Ronnie Dio and I, we go way back together. He’s one of my favorite singers — Black Sabbath, Rainbow. His wife and mine are very good friends. And this is great. They’ve raised over a million dollars for cancer.”
Lita Ford, Dio Disciples and Eddie Money performed at the Ronnie James Dio Memorial concert.
Photo by Chad Childers, Loudwire.com.
Wendy Dio, with the Bikers. Photo by Chad Childers, Loudwire.com.
Craig Goldy Reflects On His Time With Ronnie James Dio
HOH friend and famed photographer, Mark Weiss, spent time with Craig Goldy recently, prior to the Dio tributes in LA last weekend. Craig Goldy began touring with Ronnie James Dio in 1987. He recorded the Dream Evil album and toured the world, and it was the beginning of a friendship. Craig says ”Dio’s the perfect example of how one man can change the world. Ronnie changed the world. He created his own universe with his lyrics and the way he wrote. He was so good to his fans – he would take the least and make him the most – he had a way of making you feel that you were the only one in the room for that time together. He would blow your mind with kindness. The whole world was affected by that man.”
Listen to Craig as he talks about the time he spent with one of the the most beloved singers ever, here.
Ronnie James Dio (left) and Craig Goldy (right). Photo by Mark Weiss.
Extreme, Twisted Sister, Skid Row and Great White Unite for “Metal Meltdown” Concert Film
On May 30, four veteran rock bands are scheduled to descend upon the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas for the Metal Meltdown, a hits-filled concert that’s being filmed for theatrical release.
The show includes sets from Extreme, Twisted Sister, Skid Row and Great White. The venue promises that each act will be “performing their biggest hits,” although Extreme’s set is special — the band, currently in the middle of its Pornograffitti Live 25th Anniversary tour, will perform that album in its entirety.
Duff McKagan + Krist Novoselic Unite for Accordion Cover of “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan has been out on tour promoting his book How to Be a Man, and invited some special guests to the Neptune Theater for his return home to Seattle.
Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready introduced McKagan and another Seattle favorite – Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic. Novoselic came with an accordion and started jamming on Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. Needless to say, it was a unique performance!
Check out the video on DailyHeadbanger.com.
Country Star Clay Walker Rips “Outdated Rock ‘n’ Rollers” for Going Country
Country artist Clay Walker is angry with the the recent trend of older rock stars dabbling in his musical backyard.
In an interview with the Modesto Bee, Walker revealed his deep displeasure: “We’ve seen the sound of country music go through a radical change,” the singer said. “I can’t stand to see outdated rock ‘n’ rollers coming in to play country music. That really pissed me off. We have great singers, great country musicians. There’s no reason we have to dilute it by letting people in the format that don’t have any business being in the format.”
While Walker doesn’t go on to name any specific offenders, one of the more prominent rockers to crossover lately is Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, whose debut solo album will dip fully into the country pool.
B.B. King Dead at 89
B.B. King has died at the age of 89. King had been receiving hospice care at his home in Las Vegas. Over the course of his remarkable career King was the recipient of nearly every available accolade in his field: the winner of 15 Grammy Awards (not counting a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1987); inductions into the Rock and Roll and Blues Foundation Halls of Fame; a Kennedy Center Honor; a Presidential Medal of the Arts; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the international Polar Music Prize; and honorary doctorates from Yale and Brown.
King’s immense influence on other musicians is well documented. In 2011, Rolling Stone listed him at No. 6 on its list of 100 greatest guitarists, behind Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and Jeff Beck. “B.B. King was one of the few classic blues artists to have songs on mainstream radio,” said Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. “Because I was able to hear his guitar playing on ‘The Thrill is Gone,’ it showed that given the right song you could sneak some great guitar sounds into top 40 radio.”
King’s constant companion, his Gibson guitar nicknamed “Lucille,” was almost as famous as he is. There were more than a dozen Lucilles during his lifetime. As the story goes, the original received its now-legendary name after King rescued the $30 instrument from a juke-joint fire — a blaze ignited when two men, who were fighting over a woman named Lucille knocked over a kerosene lamp. In a 2005 interview with USA Today, King remarked, “Blues is a tonic for whatever ails you. I could play the blues and then not be blue anymore.”
Tommy Lee Announces New Single With DJ Nick Thayer
As if a round of tour dates with Mötley Crüe weren’t enough to keep Tommy Lee busy during the band’s visit to Australia, he’s also promoting a new single recorded with one of the country’s biggest DJs. Lee teamed up with EDM star Nick Thayer for the new release, titled “Fly S—,” which was released May 19.
Meanwhile, Mötley Crüe are scheduled to return to the U.S. in July for one last lengthy run of dates that will conclude with what’s being billed as the group’s last-ever gig on Dec. 31.
Meet the Flame-Throwing Heavy Metal Guitarist from ‘Mad Max’
There’s another flame-throwing axeman invading the music world, courtesy of the new movie Mad Max: Fury Road. The Doof Warrior, a blind guitar-playing mutant who steals every scene he’s in despite never uttering a single word of dialogue. Basically, it looks like someone dropped Mötley Crüe‘s stage set onto an armored truck and turned it loose in the desert. Check out the video of Nikki Sixx kicking off the band’s performances of “Shout at the Devil” with a similar flamethrowing stunt.
The second annual Acoustic-4-a-Cure benefit took place on May 15 in San Francisco and Metallica leader James Hetfield accompanied his 16-year-old daughter Cali on acoustic guitar while she sang the Adele song “Crazy for You.” Check out the fan-filmed footage from the performance.
In an video interview with Road Recovery, Hetfield had previously opened up about his struggles to balance his fame with his family obligations and how he wished he’d been better able to balance the needs of his fans and the needs of his family.
Viral virtuoso Rob Scallon is back and celebrating “May-tallica”. Last week he unveiled a banjo version of “Battery,” and now the YouTube star breaks out the upright bass for a cover of Metallica‘s “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth).” Check the videos out here and here.
Not to let the boys have all the spotlight fun, 16-year-old metal guitar prodigy Tina S. performs Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.” Check out the clip on DailyHeadbanger.com.
Joe Satriani is streaming “On Peregrine Wings”, taken from his upcoming album Shockwave Supernova, the follow-up to 2013’s Unstoppable Momentum.
The album will be released on July 24, and can be pre-ordered from Satriani’s website, or via iTunes and Amazon. Satriani will tour the UK starting in November.
Speaking of odd mashups…check out the Iron Maiden and Judas Priest video mashup, “The Wicker Eye.” Made by YouTube creator, “The Taskmaster”, this video answers the question of what it would sound like if someone made a single song out of Maiden’s “The Wicker Man” and Priest’s “The Hellion / Electric Eye.”